Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Representative Mark Green, Republican chairman of the committee leading the impeachment effort, said in opening remarks that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had intentionally encouraged illegal immigration with lax policies. Florida's DeSantis must face ousted prosecutor's retaliation lawsuit A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis must face a retaliation lawsuit by a state prosecutor who claimed he was unlawfully fired over statements he signed in support of transgender care and abortion rights.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Winter storm along US East Coast leaves behind power outages, flooding

The U.S. East Coast remained under the threat of menacing weather on Wednesday as a powerful winter storm loomed across the region after leaving in its wake power outages, grounded flights and several towns swamped with flood waters. More than 50 million people from eastern Ohio up through the Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast were under high wind and flooding advisories on Wednesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

Former US Cardinal McCarrick ruled not competent to face Wisconsin sex abuse trial

A Wisconsin judge on Wednesday suspended a criminal case that alleged former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick fondled an 18-year-old boy in 1977, finding the 93-year-old was not competent to stand trial after he was diagnosed with dementia. Judge David Reddy's decision came after a Massachusetts judge in August dismissed the only other sexual assault case nationally against McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., who was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019.

Trump critic Christie drops out of Republican presidential race

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ended his flailing bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday, after failing to garner support for a campaign centered on criticism of the policies and character of frontrunner Donald Trump. Christie dropped out just days before the first Republican nominating contest in Iowa. Christie had the support of just 2% of Republicans in a nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday - the same level of support as former Representative Liz Cheney, who never declared herself a candidate.

Tennessee lawmaker briefly ousted last year is silenced as new session begins

One of the Democratic Tennessee state representatives who was briefly expelled from the Republican-controlled state house last year was barred from speaking at the state legislature on Wednesday after calling the House speaker "drunk with power." Lawmakers ruled Justin Jones out of order following a chaotic start to a legislative session where gun laws are in the spotlight.

Trump cannot deliver closing arguments at NY fraud trial, judge says

Donald Trump cannot personally deliver a closing argument in his civil fraud trial, a New York judge said Wednesday after the former U.S. president's attorneys did not agree to conditions that would prevent him from delivering a “campaign speech.” The development comes a day before closing arguments in a case brought by New York’s attorney general that accuses Trump of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to secure better loan terms.

Biden, Trump tied at outset of US election year -Reuters/Ipsos poll

U.S. President Joe Biden and his leading Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, start the election year in a dead heat as many Americans appear to be unenthusiastic about their choices, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday found.

With the state-by-state nominating contest set to kick off with Republican caucuses in Iowa on Monday, 35% percent of respondents in the nationwide survey said they would vote for Biden, the same percentage as said they would vote for Trump.

House Republicans move toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress

U.S. House Republicans on Wednesday moved toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for not testifying in their impeachment probe of his father President Joe Biden, after he set off pandemonium with an unexpected Capitol appearance. Republican lawmakers in both the House Oversight and Judiciary committees held the votes after the younger Biden refused to appear for a closed-door deposition last month, instead saying he would testify publicly, which they rebuffed.

Republicans hammer Biden border chief during impeachment hearing

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday condemned President Joe Biden's top border official during an impeachment hearing over record numbers of migrants attempting to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Representative Mark Green, Republican chairman of the committee leading the impeachment effort, said in opening remarks that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had intentionally encouraged illegal immigration with lax policies.

Florida's DeSantis must face ousted prosecutor's retaliation lawsuit

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis must face a retaliation lawsuit by a state prosecutor who claimed he was unlawfully fired over statements he signed in support of transgender care and abortion rights. The ruling by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revives the lawsuit by former Tampa prosecutor Andrew Warren against DeSantis, who is among the Republicans competing with Donald Trump for their party's 2024 presidential nomination.

US House Republican hardliners challenge Johnson over spending deal

Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson faced his first direct challenge from his own caucus on Wednesday, as hardline conservatives blocked a Republican bill to protest his bipartisan spending deal with top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer.

A dozen far-right Republicans, mostly members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, joined Democrats to defeat an unrelated measure allowing debate and votes on passage of Republican resolutions opposing Biden policies on electric vehicles and other topics.